Thursday, August 1, 2013

Week Ending August 2, 2013

International Tibet Network News Digest & Analysis: 2 August 2013

Self-Immolations, Protests, and Restrictions in Tibet
Tibetan Prisoners are Released in Poor Health After Abuse in Jail - RFA
31 July | Tamdin Tsering and Sonam Rinchen were released from prison in poor condition after being accused of 'splitting the motherland' and for taking part in protests challenging Chinese rule.

Multi-million dollar propaganda spectacle opens in a Lhasa under lockdown - ICT
31 July | A multi-million dollar drama, Princess Wencheng, about a Chinese princess is being staged in Lhasa from August 1 in a bid by the authorities to increase high-end tourism and assert China’s propaganda message of its ownership of Tibet.
http://www.savetibet.org/multi-million-dollar-propaganda-spectacle-opens-in-a-lhasa-under-lockdown/

Crackdown on Dalai Lama’s Birthday: New Images from Tawu - TCHRD
29 July | TCHRD has received new photographs from the Tawu crackdown on 6 July 2013 when many Tibetans celebrating the 78th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama were beaten, teargassed and shot.

Jailed Tibetan Monk's Supporters Held After Beijing Petition Trip - RFA
29 July | Chinese authorities in Sichuan have detained four supporters of jailed Tibetan monk Tenzin Delek Rinpoche after forcibly returning them from Beijing, where they had gone to present a 30,000-signature petition for the religious leader’s release

News
Tibetan Traveler Sent Back to India over Dalai Lama Photos - RFA
30 July | A Tibetan resident of India entering Tibet to visit relatives has been sent back after authorities found photos of the Dalai Lama among his possessions, underscoring renewed efforts by China to ban images of the exiled spiritual leader.

Tibetan independence leaflets found scattered in eastern Tibet - Phayul
26 July | Leaflets calling for Tibet’s independence and the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama have been found scattered on a mountain top in Kardze region of eastern Tibet.

An App to Shield Tibetans' Texts From Prying Eyes - TechPresident
24 July | YAKchat, an alternative to WeChat, is a mobile messaging app with a Tibetan keyboard. It is more secure, with servers based outside of China, and aims to help protect the communications of Tibetans and supporters and educate those inside Tibet about the vulnerabilities of WeChat.

Opinion and Analysis
'China Is Not A Threat By Nature' A Q&A With Dr. Lionel Vairon - International Business Times
30 July | Dr. Lionel Vairon is a seasoned French diplomat, journalist and expert on international relations. In his new book “China Threat? The Challenges, Myths and Realities of China's Rise,” he discusses the propensity of the West to engage in “China-bashing campaigns.”

30 July | Michael Davis writes on how the situation in Tibet could affect Hong Kong, and warns "The problems lie in the failure to fully implement the national minority autonomy laws and the use of repressive policies to contain resistance."

"Today's Tibet is Hong Kong's Tomorrow" by Woeser - High Peaks Pure Earth
29 July | Woeser blogged about the Hong Kong Tibet Documentary Festival that took place in Hong Kong earlier this year. The documentary films screened were “Leaving Fear Behind”, “Art in Exile”, “Undercover in Tibet”, “Tibet’s Cry For Freedom”, “The Forbidden Team”, “The Tibetans: A Life in Exile” and “Fire Under the Snow”.

Quiet Storm: Pema Tseden and the emergence of Tibetan cinema - Phayul
29 July | Filmmaker Tenzing Sonam traces the coming of age of Tibetan cinema, noting “I find it nothing short of miraculous that we can even begin to discuss the possibility of a Tibetan cinema emerging from within Tibet.“